Thanksgiving lunch options abound

Anyone who knows me : and probably a lot of people who don’t : can attest to the fact that I like to eat.

A lot.

And so you can imagine my heartbreak when my aunt sent the text message with the details of our Thanksgiving dinner. We are to arrive at 4 p.m. with dinner to be served at 4:30 p.m.

Maybe I have cloudy memories of my childhood, but I distinctly remember my grandma carving the turkey well before 3 p.m. so that we could eat, rest and eat some more.

The news : and my appetite : has me looking. Just where can I get a pre-dinner snack? (On another day, this might be known simply as “lunch.”)

According to the National Restaurant Association, about 10 percent of people expected to dine out on Thanksgiving in 2016, up from 6 percent in 2011. An additional 5 percent of people dining at home planned to order a meal from a restaurant.

So whether you are in a similar situation or looking for a place to dine with family so you can let someone else do the carving, here are some options.

• Liberty Diner, 2929 Goshen Road, will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The restaurant will serve seven turkey specials, which include soup or salad and pumpkin pie. Prices start at $8.95. To make reservations, call 484-9666.

• Don Hall’s Triangle Park, 3010 Trier Road, will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a special Thanksgiving Day menu. The roast turkey dinner will include homemade dressing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet corn and choice of soup or salad. Children may substitute chicken strips for turkey.

Also on the menu will be Ossian ham, raspberry pecan and baked scrod. Each entrée will be served with two side dishes.

The cost is 15 for seniors and $8 for ages 12 and younger.

For those who enjoy a steak, Triangle Park will also offer New York strip and filet mignon. The cost is 21 for seniors and 40. Each entrée comes with two side dishes.

For reservations, call 482-4342.

• Oakwood Resort on Lake Wawasee will offer a Thanksgiving buffet with many of the traditional offerings. The cost is 14 for ages 5 to 12 and free for children younger than 5. For reservations, call 574-457-8700.

AA Poke coming

Several permits have been filed with the Fort Wayne-Allen County Building Department for a new restaurant on Coliseum Boulevard East.

We’re not talking just a new place to grab a bite to eat while you are shopping. This is an entirely new dining concept for the city.

AA Poke is set to take up residence at 710 Coliseum Blvd. E., near Qdoba.

While information on AA Poke is slim, poke could very well be the next big thing in fast food : and likely is in some of the country’s biggest markets.

According to a Business Insider article from July 2017, “Poké is a mix of raw cubes of seafood (usually ahi tuna or salmon) in a soy sauce-based marinade. It’s often garnished with seaweed, cucumber, avocado, or tobiko, and served over rice or greens. Ubiquitous in Hawaii : you can pick it up at grocery stores or even gas stations : poké is a deconstructed, flavorful version of sushi. It’s also generally healthy and endlessly customizable.”

Red Lobster and the Cheesecake Factory added poke dishes to their menus this year.

The AA Poke sign on Coliseum also advertises that sushi burritos will be available.

Stay tuned for more.

Wagyu Tuesdays

People might say Tuesdays are for tacos but the culinary staff at Joseph Decuis might beg to differ.

The Roanoke restaurant is introducing Wagyu burgers on its Tuesday menu.

A summer favorite, a third-pound Wagyu Burger with aged local cheddar, lettuce, onion, tomato will be served on a sourdough ciabatta with pickled farm veggies. Fries come with the burger for $14.

There will be specials as well, such as the one from this week : a breakfast burger with a third-pound Wagyu patty, Mangalitsa coffee bacon, farm egg, American cheese, red pepper jam, maple syrup aioli, sourdough ciabatta, with pickled farm veggies and house-made fries.

Also new to the menu is a 10-ounce hand-pattied burger made from ground Wagyu cuts of short rib and brisket.

The Supreme Steak Burger is topped with Taleggio cheese, caramelized onions and served on sourdough ciabatta with farm vegetables and house-made fries.

It might be one of the most expensive burgers around at $30.

Around town

• The vacant restaurant at 3530 W. Jefferson Blvd. has been sold, according to signage on the property. In recent years, the building had been home to a Wendy’s and then Pasquetti’s Italian Steakhouse. However, it has been empty for nearly a year and a half since Pasquetti’s closed in March 2017.

• BurgerFi is giving back this holiday season with the Steakhouse Bleu Burger. The limited-time-only sandwich features two Angus patties, Danish blue cheese, cracked pepper bacon, cabernet onion marmalade and steak sauce. A dollar from each burger will go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to help end childhood cancer.